10yr old boy reading age 14

[jessieminto]

He's been a reluctant reader for the past few years and is being assessed for ASD. He enjoyed diary of a wimpy kid and captain underpants but obviously they are not at a level that will challenge him.

Any suggestions? I've read through the recent Horror thread and ordered a Stephen King book but would love to have something else to try.

It take a lot to get him engaged and can be put off by just the cover of the book or it's title. TIA

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I used to buy my DN each one to arrive on the day it was published. They were the only books he would read

Alex Rider, Artemis Fowl (if he gets into a series he might keep reading them!). The Roman Mysteries series.

Agree about Cherub — I'd wait a bit for that. It does have a reputation for getting people into reading but the content jumps up in age quite quickly. Also, I don't know if it's been reissued, but I suspect it might be a bit dated. I think the references to tech and clothing were very current when they were written, but the first one was published in 2004!

DS (now 12) read The Hobbit at that age, and Lord of the Rings not long after. He's quite nerdy and has enjoyed all the Stephen Fry books about Greek gods etc. and the Neil Gaiman Norse myths one.

He also read all the Percy Jackson/Magnus Chase/Kane Chronicles around that age. Nowadays he takes himself off to the fantasy shelves in Waterstones and generally finds something with a dragon on it which keeps him happy!

i think you should be allowing your son to choose what he wants to read, as opposed to choosing for him.

I don’t recall my mum ever choosing my reading material, and I certainly never chose my kids’.

This, however, is none of my business.

The boy who made the world disappear... its about controlling emotions too.

DS (9) is the same .... so it can be tricky to find appropriate books

Adam Kay are good (Kays anatomy etc)

He really loves fact books. Charles dickens is a favorite of his and also Winston Churchill. All depends what his interests are really. Autobiographies can be good too but depends on the person really.

The Marcus rashford book is great from a self esteem point of view.

Good luck 👍🏻

Just take him to a library and let him choose whatever sparks his interest.
I wouldn’t recommend Stephen King though. It’s not good horror for a 10yr old.
Dean Koontz has some geared towards teen readers like the Odd Thomas or Frankenstein series’.

Its not really about choosing for them. Its a book difficult enough to challenge from a reading point of view without having content that is inappropriate. To make suggestions to them then guide their choice is more the aim.

DS has the box set- loves them! Plus the Netflix series is also great 😂 🙈

My brother read lord of the rings and its prequels at that age. Also he read a lot of non fiction like history books.

I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to age appropriate content in tv or books but I'd never consider Stephen King for a 10 year old. Not suitable at all! Reading for pleasure doesn't have to be challenging, especially for a reluctant reader. At 10 dd who was also a bit reluctant due to dyslexia loved Tom gates books. She was also capable of reading far more complicated text but these were fun and enjoyable for her and the lack of challenge was a bonus not a bad thing. Definitely let him choose. A trip to Waterstones to browse.

My 9 year old good reader and I often pass books onto each other now, it's great!

We've both enjoyed the Harry Potters, Loki by Mackenzi Lee, Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson, the Narnia series, anything by Michael Morpurgo and Terry Pratchett.

As for Pratchett he wrote a number of books aimed at younger readers - The Tiffany Aching and Johnny Maxwell series' and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, so they're great places to start, but I don't think theted anything inappropriate in any of his books and Discworld is a really incredible series. I've read some of them several times and spot something new each time.

Some of the lighter classics would be suitable too - I'd read and loved Great Expectations and Little Women by that age.

I would absolutely steer clear of Stephen King also. Don’t push ahead with the content, push sideways - there is a lot out there that fits the 10-12 age range and I would stick with that.

I have 3 autistic daughters aged 10-15 with v high reading ages. However, their interest in reading differs. 13yo has always hated reading, despite a high reading age and I always have thought that doesn’t equate to being able to cope emotionally with content.

if he is interested, there are books about a lot of autistic characters, I can only recall ‘a kind of spark’ of the top of my head. My 10yo obsessively reads Ottoline and dork diaries. The content feels less complicated than her ability, but it means she reads every night.

Can I echo a couple of others and say please please be careful about content and themes for a 10 year old who reads well?

The Landlady and Lamb to the Slaughter are great but nasty, and a 10 year old would not get them or be able to process a lot of the dark humour - Dahl wrote them for adults (year 9s love the stories but it needs discussion). A lot of the things mentioned are nasty and misogynistic. There is a tendecy always to suggest horror for boys

The Dark Is Rising is a good idea (never been a trilogy - I think that's a false memory!! TDIR is the best of the books and I actually read it first). My DS liked it aged about 13. Also The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Five Children and It. The children's classics are better written so provide more challenge for good readers. Ian Seraillier also.

The How to Train Your Dragon books are wonderful , suitable for children , and a step up from Wimpy Kids in content and quality.

Just because someone has a reading age of 14 doesn't mean they have to read at that level - your DS is still 10. Deriving pleasure and comprehension are important.

You could try abridged classics of eg Oliver Twist, Gulliver's Travels etc also.

Oh, and reading a couple more threads, yes to Morpurgo. A Medal for Leroy is excellent as is The Butterfly Lion. His books are often quite sad.

Mine loved the Wolf Brother series and the Edge Chronicles. Also recommend the James Herriot books and those by Joyce Stranger as well.

Agreed!

Wonder is also very good - sensitive themes but age appropriately handled. Reading difficulty similar to Tom Gates.

It's obvious he likes funny books so I'd try and go down that avenue too, rather than too much horror. Cressida Cowell, David Walliams (not popular on MN but they are funny imo), Horrible Histories all do humour well.

My 10 year old has a similar reading age, he gets lots of age appropriate books for advanced readers from school. At home he gets encyclopaedia type books, so he's reading, but a different style to the school things.

He's a fountain of useless information!

Knowledge Encyclopedia Ocean!: Our Watery World As You've Never Seen It Before (Knowledge Encyclopedias) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241412889/ref=cmswwrcppapiiiBRJ06189GV95EQPA2WP4?encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Wolf Brother series. Completely suitable for his age with a great storyline. My very reading age advanced girls loved them.

Even my husband the ultimate reluctant reader a complete hater of reading books read the first three!

My ds is 10 and has recently enjoyed:

• Pages and Co series by Anna James
• My Life as a Cat and I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak
• Goodbye Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
• Dragon Realm series by Katie and Kevin Tsang
• Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths by Maisie Chan

He could read more advanced books but these are the ones he picked for himself, although I chose Goodbye Mr Tom to read with him.

Absolutely Chronicles of Darkness series (Wolf Brother books mentioned above) , am older kids loved those from 10 onwards.

Discworld are funny, clever and with no inappropriate content and can be revisited with joy multiple times.

2 of my sons loved the Edge chronicles mentioned above and also Alex Rider books.

As already mentioned do take care to monitor as there is a lot of ten years old -inappropriate stuff in teenage books. Don't go by reading she ever! My parents made this mistake and I still remember some unsavoury stuff I read when I was ten!

No to Stephen King, the adult Roald Dahls etc. Inappropriate for age 10, content wise.

And no to the vast majority of "classics" for a reluctant reader. You'll put him off for life.

If he likes humorous books above all, then try some of the slightly more challenging series as indicated above. David Baddiel books are great and there are lots of great standalone novels appropriate for his age like The Life of Riley by Simon James Green, The Worst Holiday Ever by Charlie Higson.

If he might like fantasy, then Cressida Cowell, Rick Riordan (not just Percy Jackson, the Egyptian series The Kane Chronicles is ace) the younger Pratchetts would all be good.

Don't forget non-fiction. Boys, and particularly boys on the spectrum, can go through a phase of preferring non-fiction. Just seize on any interests. If he likes nature, Dara MacAnulty's nature book might inspire (he's a young teen with autism himself, already published!)

And don't write off graphic novels and comics. They count as reading. Expensive, as so quick to read, but might get him into the library if you find one to buy thar he loves first.

No Dickens or Austen, please. You'll stop him reading for good

My son is 9yo and very similar. To be honest it’s difficult to find books that are both challenging while also lacking sex or real horror. He really enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy recently and His Dark Materials.

Goodnight Mr Tom, sorry!

Ds2 also enjoys Onjali Rauf's books and he's looking forward to the release of the third Little Badman book, by Humza Arshad.

If he won’t set foot in the library, do you have a chance to go without him? I find my children can get a bit overwhelmed by the choice in the library, but if I pick up a selection of things they might like, then they’ll usually end up at least trying most of them.
Our limit is 20 books per card, so I just borrow as much as I can carry.